Password Expiration

One common bit of advice with respect to security is to require frequent password changes.  This "best practice" has persisted for decades despite some prominent criticism.  But, is password expiration actually helpful or not?

Are there benefits?

Password expiration has a negligible effect on limiting or preventing malicious behavior.  The ability to steal passwords often implies privileged access to your systems or network.  If the attacker has administrator rights, access to the password database or the ability to sniff traffic on your network, he can install a backdoor or continuously steal passwords in order to avoid the expiration window.  That’s assuming he even needs continued access to accomplish his goal.  If the attacker only needs short-term access, which is often the case, password expiration is irrelevant.